This invention relates to fishing floats designed for sport fishing. This invention, the flip float, specifically relates to a fishing float which will alert a fisherman to the fact that a fish has struck his fishing line, even if the fishing is taking place at night.
Fishing floats have long been used by fishermen for a variety of purposes. A float can be used with a line and hook beneath it to deploy the hook (and bait) at a fixed depth. By watching to see when the float is pulled under the water the fisherman can tell when he has a bite. Another type of float is a slip float which has an eyelet or loop attached to the float through which a fisherman can run a line which is free to move. The movement of the line is restricted by stops attached to the line on either side of the eyelet. The line and float can then be cast whereupon the float will stay on the surface of the water and the line will slip downward through the eyelet until a stop is encountered. This will again deploy the hook at a depth lying between the surface and a preset depth set by the placement of a stop on the fishing line.
The pulling of the float under the water will alert the fisherman that he has a bite. A slip float is very useful for surf fishing; however, when fishing in rough or choppy waters, it is often difficult to determine if there is a bite because of the water motion. This is not a problem with a flip float, because it turns to a different color when there is a bite, and the fisherman can see for sure what is going on.
A flip float consists of a float that will flip over and stay flipped over when the fishing line is pulled by a fish. The flip float contains a weight or weighted tube that shifts when the float is inverted so that the center of gravity of the float changes in such a manner that the float remains inverted after it is flipped over. The submerged part of the flip float is a different color from the part that is above the water, so it is readily apparent when a fish has taken the bait and turned the flip float over. Thus, if a fisherman is not looking when he gets a bite, he can tell at a glance, by noting which color is above the surface of the water, whether a fish has taken the bait. With an ordinary float the fish may be on the hook but inactive so that the float may remain on the surface of the water giving no indication that one has had a bite.
A conventional fishing float is a good signaling device whose primary function is to go under the water when a fish bites. This action is a fisherman's signal to set the hook, but one must be watching this float at all times to know when or if there has been a bite. The flip float is a better signaling device. Its primary function is to have the visible part of the float turn a different color when a fish bites the hook. This action is a signal for the fisherman to set the hook whether the flip float goes under the water or not.
A flip type float containing an internal weight which slides to invert the float is described in Canada Patent No. 547,067. The float consists of a hollow spherical body with a wire fixed about a diameter of the sphere and the weight constrained to slide along the wire. The weight is contained entirely within the hollow spherical body of the float. A second embodiment disclosed in the patent consists of a hollow spherical body containing a spherical or cylindrical weight constrained to move within a tube contained entirely within the hollow spherical body.
A fishing bobber for controlling the depth at which a fishing hook is deployed was described by Johnson in U.S. Pat. No. 2,493,971. Johnson's device has a tubular runner or slide rod extending through a floatation ball with an adjustable external weight attached to the stem. The purpose of Johnson's device is to make the bobber stable in a position where line is taken in or out so as to be able to adjust the depth of operation of the hook. Although similar in appearance to some flip floats, Johnson's bobber has a completely different purpose from that of a flip float.
The applicants herein, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,852,894 describe a flip float with a weight disposed to freely slide within a bore which extends through a buoyant body. O-rings are disposed in grooves on the external surface of the weight with the O-rings acting as stops to limit the extent to which the weight can slide through the buoyant body.
The present invention is of simplified construction having a stem assembly disposed to slide freely in a shaft through a floatation ball causing the center of gravity to change and the flip float to invert. The stem assembly consists of a stem, an internal weight and two end caps which serve as stops to limit the motion of the stem assembly through the shaft in the floatation ball. The flip float has a total of only five parts which are easily assembled which results in a device that can be economically produced. It solves the problem of creating a fishing float which will let a fisherman know whether a fish has struck his line, even at night, by the introduction of a fishing float with a moveable stem assembly which can shift through the body of the float when a fishing line attached to the stem assembly is struck by a fish. The stem assembly shifts when the float is overturned and passes partially through the body of the float causing it to invert and be stable in the inverted position. This design leads to a lower center of gravity than the design of previous flip type floats; the lower center of gravity in turn makes the float more stable when in either of its two equilibrium positions. The introduction of reflecting materials of different, distinguishable colors on the top and bottom of the float makes it possible to tell at night, by shining a light on the float, whether the float has been inverted due to a fish striking the line.